Heat transfer apparatus



V. E. MATULAITIS HEAT TRANSFER APPARATUS July 6, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 28, 1949 P 1954 v. E. MATULAITIS 2,683,025

' HEAT TRANSFER APPARATUS Filed July 28, 1949 '3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ea. fiw

y 1954 v. E. MATULAITIS 2.

HEAT TRANSFER APPARATUS Filed July 28, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 m Z3 /Z0 INVENTOR. l zbi o'r 17/742 24? 1723i Patented July 6, 1954 HEAT TRANSFER APPARATUS Victor E. Matulaitis, Dctroit, Mich-; Application July 28, 1949; Serial"N-."107,332

1 Claim;

invention relates generally to heat transferi'apparatus and-is particularly adapted among otheri' uses inr.-locations .in 'which -a. heat transfer surface having an unusually large aspect ratio isldesired, for-example, in heaters for automobiles.

Inzthe last few yearsg it has become increasinglyriapparent' tha-t for "greater comfort the motor vehicleeshould be heated by supplying warm air thereto": completely: across the vehicle. Some stepsashave been taken along this line in an endeavor to provide such'a heated air distribution.-

Presentlvsuchdistribution is provided by means ofafa:duct locatedback of the motorvehicle instrument. panel andextending'substantiallycompletely'iacross the motor vehicle. practice .isctoprovide a core at one side of the motonvehicleieither within the engine compartment or withinithe m'otorvehicle closely adjacent th'efirewall. to 'heat the air which is then discharged": into a.transversely extending plenum chamber or: duct having downwardly spaced openings for.:distributing, as evenly as possible. theheated "air 2 across the .motor vehicle.

Thistype ofinstallation has been somewhat satisfactory but has. had certain disadvantages in that. the space in. back of the. instrument panel is-quite-limited due to the present day tendency to-iprovide. not only'instruments thereonbut also a glove-compartment von the passenger side of ofzthewvehicle and a radio in'the central portion. This makes it very hard to find sufficient room to place a core or other heat transferringsurfaceto heat the air suppliedto the duct. Also in. view of modern day construction space within-the engine compartment adjacent the fire wall is at apremiumand space on this side of the fire wall to locate the necessary heat exchange surface has beenattained'only by a sacrifice of space for other desired instrumentalities associated withamotor vehicle;

Furthermore, attempts have ben made to pro- A presentvide-a core within the distributing duct so that the lumped heat exchange surface now presently used could. be eliminated. These attempts have met with little success especially with those types of heaters provided with thermostatic control for regulatingrthe amount of heating fluid supplied tothe heater. Normal heat exchange surfaces ofthe type used in motor vehicles provide for the flow of hot water or heated fluid transverse to the flow of air to be heated. In order to provide a heat exchange surface of suflicient capacity for-the modern vehicle in colder weather and to remain within space limitations, it has been necessary to provide small water passageways and extended. area surfaces associated therewith through which theair to be heated is passed. These passageways of necessity must be of sufficient size so that when the maximum amount of hot water for heating is required, the'passage- Ways will permit such hot water flow. When, however, the temperature moderates so that the control valve throttles the flow of hot water, it hasbeen' foundthat'with such a heat exchange surfacein'the long narrow duct "that the air .pletelyacross the width. thereof.

2;. passed adjacent ithefihot waters-inlet side 501 the heat exchange surface is hcated-higher than-desired while the air passing throughthe opposite en'dr h'as been heated relativelylittle if at all;-

It :is'taccordingly an 'object of tiny inventiontto. provideziimprove'd heat: transfer apparatus'zcom prising an elongated. casinghavin'g straight side and endedges and. diagonal. corners; a fin strucs' ture extending between the end edges, portionsoftthe .casing above :and'..b'elow"the :fin structure being shaped outwardly 'toprovide enlarged'header: portions;

Anotherobject "of this: invention is to provides an. extremely eflicient uheat exchange'surface: ofi the type described which requires a; very small 1' amount of space with respect to the heat transfer:

A further object of this inventionis .to-v provide a relatively: rigid dividing wall separating; the: fluidmedium supplying theiheat from :the: fiuid medium whichis tobe-h-eatedr;

Another object of thisinvention is to provide extended area surface 'on'each' side of ':this irela+-.- tively rigidmassive wall;:

Another object is to..utilize the-extended 'sur-:- face -forreinforcing the dividing: wall.-

Other objects .ofthis' invention will be apparent: from the specification, the appended claimiandi from the drawingainwhich. drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspectivediagra-mmatic partial viewof a'motor vehicle equipped :withzas-heaterembodyingthe invention;

Figx2 is an enlarged view' of the-heater=taken substantially along-the line '2-2\of Fig; 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the heater of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4-is a fragmentary view showing amodi-fiedv form of the heater show-11in Fig. 2;

Fig. 51s a view similar to Fig. 4-showing-a; further modified-form ofathe heater;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary left side view of-the-= heater shown'in Fig. 2 and showing a portion of, the temperature control arrangement for. the controlling flow of heating -fluid to the heater;

Fig. '7 is a view taken substantiallyalong rthe- 1ine-'l-l of Fig.6;

Fig. 8 is a view takensubstan-tially along-the. line 3-3 of Fig.7;

Fig. 9 is a detailed-broken view showing certain. of the internal features-of the heat transfer core for the heater shown in Fig.2,"

Fig. 10 is-a. view taken substantially.alcngxthe line Hl-|fi-of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a view taken substantially alongthe line lI-Il of Fig. 9.

Referring-t0 the drawingsby characters of reference, the numeral 1 indicates generally a"- portion of a. motor vehicle havinganengine com-.- partment 2, a passenger space '4. windshield portions Eand 8 and a fire wall H3. The fire wall Iilis provided with a suitablenumber of aper---- tures, some of which are shown at Hand IQ for": mountingamotcr vehicle heater generally designated l6 and which as shown extends transversely of the vehicle and substantially com comprises a dished sheet metal 'member ll'having The -healter flat) a peripheral wall closed by a substantially planar sheet metal piece M3 to form a boxlike member or housing |9 havin adjacent one end thereof an air inlet 20 and a series of downwardly opening elongated air discharge passageways 2| across the length of the heater. The inlet 20 may be positioned anywhere along the length of the heater IS. A core 22 is carried within the housing |9 and is provided with an inlet 23 and outlet 24 for flow of heat supplying medium. Such medium in a motor vehicle may be the coolant used for the motor vehicle engine.

The coolant preferably is supp-lied from the engine 26 through a conduit 28, through a flow controlling thermostatic device 3|], and conduit 32 to the heater inlet 23. The coolant after flowing through the core 22 passes outwardly through the outlet 24 and conduit 36 back to the motor Vehicle cooling system, as, for example, to the coolant pump 38.

Air for defrosting the Windshields 6 and 8 is distributed thereto through conduits 42 and 44 and nozzles 4,6 and 48 respectively. The flow of air to the vehicle and for defrosting is controlled by a damper 52a or 502) depending upon the particular arrangement which is being considered.

The core structure 22 is located adjacent the front wall |8 of the sheet metal housing Hi and spaced slightly upwardly from the lower edge thereof. A transversely extending wall 64 is provided substantially midway of the core 22 and extends between the rear wall portion of the sheet metal member l1 and the core 22, the joint between the transverse wall 84. and the core 22 being sealed by suitable resilient sealing material 66. The wall $4 and core 22 cooperate with the housing H) to provide an inlet plenum chamber EBwhich is supplied with air from a conduit or duct 69 connected to the inlet 20. The air admitted through the inlet 29 distributes itself substantially equally from end-to-end of the heater l5 for flow downwardly through the core 22 into a lower plenum or distributing chamber Hi. The chamber H3 is in selective communication with the elongated fluid distributin slots 2| and with a chamber 7| separated from the chamber H! by the damper 52.

In the form shown in Fig. 2 the damper 5B is of the butterfly type and is pivotally supported on a shaft 12 journaled in the housing i9. In the position of the damper 59 shown in full upper end engages a resilient sealing member 54 similar to the member 65 for completely shutting off flow of air between the chamber Hi and the defrosting air distributing chamber H whereby all the air passing through the core 22 is discharged from the plenum chamber '10 through the outlets 2| for heating the interior of the motor vehicle. Additional sealing means such as a flexible strip 18 is provided to abut against the lower half of the butterfly damper or valve 59 and to follow the rotative movement of the damper 52 so that flow of air from the chamber H outwardly through the outlets 2| is prevented. The damper 52 may be rotatively positioned as desired by means of a crank arm or other suitable means, not shown, for rotating the shaft i2.

Positioning of the damper 50, in the dash line position thereof as shown in Fig. 2, restricts the flow of air outwardly through the outlets 2| and opens a fluid flow path between the chambers It and 1| for causing air to flow from the chamber 1|] into the chamber l! for flow upwardly through vertically extendin passageways lines, its

cated at opposite ends of the heater Hi. The passageways 80 and 82 communicate with the chamber 1| through apertures 8| and 83 respectively'in the wall 64. The conduits 42 and 44 are in respective open communication with the upper end of these passageways 82 and 82. The defrosting air passes outwardly through the conduits 42 and 44 and the distributors 46 and 48 for flow across the windshield portions 6 and 8. L-shaped vertically extending sheet members 84 and 86 extend upwardly from the top surface of the transverse member 64 and seat against the adjacent inwardly curved portions of the member H to separate the passageways 80 and 82 from the chamber 68.

Referrin now more specifically to Figs. 9, 10 and 11, the core 22 comprises a pair of dished sheet metal members H19 and H32 which are arranged in face-to-face relation and have their peripheral edges secured together as by the flange I24 of the member I02 to provide an inner chamber IE6 for containing the heat supplying medium. The members m0 and I02 preferably are relatively thick to provide both strength and sufficient thickness so that slight imperfections in its surfaces or corrosion will not permit the coolant to flow outwardly of the chamber N15. The dished members we and I02 have spaced substantially parallel vertical extending end walls I93 interconnected by offset similar top and bottom walls H2 and H4. The walls H2 and H4 at their intersection with the walls I08 form upper and lower shoulders H5 for mechanically holding the internal extended heat transfer surface H5. The surface H6 occupies a substantially rectangular space within the chamber I26 which is or" a height equal to the distance between the shoulders H5 and of a length equal to the distance between the walls I88. The ofiset of the walls H2 and H4 provides a lower inlet distributing chamber i2!) and an upper outlet distributing chamber [22 which communicate respectively with the inlet and outlet conduits 23 and. 24. In this manner water admitted through the inlet 23 will disperse itself throughout the chamber I20 for substantially equal flow upwardly through the extended surface H6 into the outlet chamber i522 where it is collected and discharged outwardly through the outlet 24. An external extended area surface |24 is provided in good thermal contact with the outer surface of each of the members Hit and H12.

In l of the drawings, there is shown a thermostatic flow controlling device 35] for regulating the flow of heating fluid to the chamber let. This device 3B is controlled by means of an expansible, contractible fluid located within a small bore tube it which extends outwardly from the control device 39 to provide a tube portion i4! at the back of the heater it. The tube Hit also has a portion responsive to the temperature within the motor vehicle. The quantity of control fluid in the conduit Hi2 is proportioned such that within the operating temperature range of the device 38 only a small quantity of fluid in liquid form will be present in the conduit M Therefore, the coldest section of conduit Mt will act as the control temperature for the thermostatic device 3%.

The thermostatic device 33 is provided with a valve mechanism, not shown, which regulates the flow of coolant to the core 22 in accordance with the coldest temperature to which any section of the capillary control tube |4il is subjected. Con- 80 and 82 lotrols of this type are available in the open market and a more detailed description thereof is not deemed necessary. I propose, however, to associate the device 30 in a novel manner with the heater [5 to provide for an improved temperature regulation. More specifically the arrangement provides for preventing the device from reducing the flow of engine coolant to the heater sufiiciently to permit air to be supplied to the vehicle which is substantially below the desired temperature of the vehicle. To do this, I provide for bypassing a portion of air which has partially been heatedby the core 22 over the portion I i! of the tube I40 so that when the temperature of this partially heated air is below the desired vehicle temperature then the control of the device 30 will be in accordance with the temperature of the partially heated air rather than as occurs under other conditions of operation under control of a second section of the tube I40 which is responsive to vehicle temperature.

To provide for this partially heated air the extended surface in adjacent the lower end portions of the passageways I30 is cut away to provide a pocket M2 which opens outwardly into a passageway M4 formed between sheet members I45, I49, I41 and 53 extending between the surface E24 and the rear wall of the dished member I1. An aperture M9 in the member I! permits a limited amount of air to flow outwardly of the chamber ice and across the tube portion Ml.

During operation of the heater I6 when the vehicle temperature is below the desired temperature, the device 30 will be permitting engine coolant to flow through the core 22 in sufficient quantity to raise the temperature of the air admitted through the inlet 20 to a temperature above that within the vehicle. During this operation the air passing outwardly of the core 22 into the passageway H94 and. outwardly through the aperture I49 will be heated to a temperature just slightly below the temperature of the air being discharged through the outlets 2| and will be at a temperature above the temperature of the vehicle and will not be able to control the device 30 since a second portion of the tube I40 responsive to vehicle temperature will be at a lower temperature and will control.

As the temperature of the vehicle approaches the desired temperature the device 30 will act to reduce the flow of engine coolant to the core 22 and as a result the temperature of the air discharging outwardly of the passageways 2! will 7 drop as well as the temperature of the air, discharging through the aperture l49. Before the temperature of the air passing outwardly of the aperture 2| is reduced sufiiciently to be objectionable to the occupants of the vehicle the temperature of the air passing outwardly of the aperture I49 will have decreased to cause the tube portion M! to be the control point of the tube. As a consequence of the change in control to the portion hit the device 30 will then be actuated to increase the flow of engine coolant to the core 22 to maintain the temperature of the portion I 4| at the desired vehicle temperature and cold air will be prevented from entering the vehicle.

With the use of counterfiow heating of the air as shown, throttling of the flow of engine coolant through the core will cause an increase in the difierential in temperature between that of the air flowing across the portion MI and that flowing outwardly of the apertures 2| which still further aids in shifting of the control point for the device 30 to prevent a flow of objectionable air outwardly of the apertures 2|. In passing, it is well to point out that in the absence of such a control arrangement the device 30 might reduce the flow of engine coolant to the core 22 such that the air flowing from the heater into the vehicle actually substantially cooler than that desired. Until the temperature of the vehicle was lowered by such air to a temperature below that desired the control 30 would not act to increase the flow of heating fluid to the core 22. This would result in a chilling effect on the occupants of the vehicle which is undesirable. With the arrangement described herein such flow of cold air is prevented and at no time can such a flow chill the occupants. Neither will the heater act to overheat the vehicle since the relative temperatures of the air leaving the apertures 2i and 549 will act to control the temperature of the air discharged through the apertures 25 slightly above the desired temperature which will neither cause an uncomfortable increase in the vehicle temperature nor permit a chilling air flow which would be objectionable.

What is claimed and is desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is as follows:

A heat transfer core comprising a casing consisting of a pair of elongated sheet metal members having straight elongated side edges, straight elongated end edges, and straight inclined corner edges connecting the ends of said side edges with the ends of said end edges, said members having continuous peripheral flanges extending toward each other and spacing the sides of said casing apart, the peripheral flanges at the intersection of said end edges and said inclined edges providing internal supports, thin elongated heat transfer fin structure of overall rectangular block shape extending from end to end of said casing and having its end corners engaged and located by said internal supports, the sides of said fin structure engaging the inner surfaces of said members, and the edges of said structure occupying planes connecting corresponding end edges of said members leaving header spaces beyond opposite edges of said fin structure, the portions of said members located outwardly toward the side edges from lines joining the corresponding end edges thereof being shaped outwardly beyond the intermediate portions thereof to form transversely widened header spaces, one of said members having inlet and outlet openings formed thereininward- 1y from its edges and communicating with said header spaces.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,693,618 Otis Dec. 4, 1928 1,775,173 Phelps et al Sept. 9, 1930 1,899,080 Dalgliesh Feb. 28, 1933 1,966,882 Bucklen July 17, 1934 2,136,641 Smith Nov. 15, 1938 2,213,018 Perkins Aug. 27, 1940 2,247,199 Kritzer June 24, 1941 2,247,405 Raney July 1, 1941 2,300,357 Hans Oct. 27, 1942 2,309,202 Moore Jan. 26, 1943 2,360,123 Gerstung et al Oct. 10, 1944 2,376,749 Belaieff May 22, 1945 2,490,919 Raney Dec. 13, 1949 2,526,135 Holmes et a1. Oct. 17, 1950 2,542,317 Faulhaber et a1. Feb. 20, 1951 2,544,465

Matulaitis Mar. 6, 1951 

